Table of Contents
“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”: An Introduction to Adaptive Optics
Turbulence in the atmosphere limits the performance of astronomical telescopes
Images of a bright star, Arcturus
Turbulence changes rapidly with time
Measure details of blurring from “guide star” near the object you want to observe
Basic idea of AO
Adaptive optics in action
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Deformable mirrors come in many shapes and sizes
Adaptive optics system is usually behind main telescope mirror
What does a “real” adaptive optics system look like?
If there is no nearby star, make your own “star” using a laser
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AO at the Keck 10 m Telescope
Adaptive optics on 10-m Keck II Telescope: Factor of 10 increase in spatial resolution
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Neptune in Infrared Light
Neptune: Ground-based AO vs. Voyager Spacecraft
Saturn’s moon Titan: Shrouded by haze as seen by Hubble Space Telescope
Titan at Keck: with and without adaptive optics
Uranus as seen by Hubble Space Telescope and Keck AO
Keck AO Can See the Faintest Rings Discovered by Voyager
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Other Uses for AO
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Adaptive optics provides highest resolution images of living human retina
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Retinal Imaging – Basic Science
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Primary Mirrors: CELT vs. Keck
CELT and Stonehenge
CELT in PacBell Park
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